Watercolour New Zealand Supreme Award

Judges' comment: This artist is highly skilled. With a minimum of brush strokes she has achieved maximum effect – exactly the way watercolour should be done. The effect is abstract realism.

Adrienne: "After 48 years of exhibiting my watercolours it’s still a wonderful surprise and an honour to again be found worthy of an award.Nor’wester was painted from my heart and imagination. The huge vistas of the Canterbury plains, the horizontals, the big dramatic skies and the ever changing light, shapes and colours are forever stored in my head.My palette was transparent Golden Lake, Orange, Purple, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber and Indigo. The light areas and the hard and soft edges were planned but l let the dark pigment have its way! l never consciously choose warm and cool colours but using dark against light and merging edges seem to work for me (most of the time). Thank you and sincere congratulations to the Watercolour New Zealand Committee. “Splash” was truly a beautiful exhibition."

We are delighted that Adrienne has won this award. As Patron of Watercolour New Zealand for the last five years, she encourages and supports the Committee in all our activities. For 35 years painting and tutoring have been Adrienne’s work and her hobby. “You meet wonderful people from all walks of life, with a common denominator.” She has tutored all over New Zealand, lead painting trips, judged competitions and won awards. Christopher Moore, arts editor of the Christchurch Press, described an exhibition of Adrienne’s work: “A sumptuous exhibition of watercolours by one of Canterbury’s outstanding watercolourists. Each work distils the essence of the landscape into a glorious passage of colours and forms which sing from the paper’s surface. Watercolours either work or fail – in Pavelka’s hands, they triumph.”

Svetlana Orinko has been a wonderful guest artist for our annual major Splash exhibition. She sent a display of ten exquisite paintings for the feature wall, every one of which attracted People’s Choice votes.

She came from her home town, Christchurch, to join in the Opening and on the following morning demonstrated her watercolour skill to a large, admiring audience.

Watercolour New Zealand Merit Award

Judge’s comment: The composition is powerful. There are just two shapes: one big dark shape against one light shape. Dark against light, cold against warm.

Brian: Following the old kiss formula of simplicity first, it wasn’t too hard to let watercolour depict the quiet mood of a place in the Marlborough Sounds where I have, over several decades, spent many happy hours and days with family, fishing, skiing, boating, relaxing, or even painting! Caught in the early morning before the sun and wind have properly woken everything and everybody up, the Sounds can produce some breathtakingly beautiful vistas. To capture it all by painting en plein air I must admit was a bit daunting for my level of expertise and watercolour experience, or perhaps just my level of confidence.

Nevertheless I was pleased to think I had captured the peacefulness and simple mood of the place by means of a quick pencil sketch followed by a studio painting. I hope viewers may be able to experience the same attraction to the scene that I did.

Watercolour New Zealand Merit Award

Judge’s comment: The composition is powerful, using a big strong dark shape against light. Abstraction is well used here, a useful skill in watercolour.

Claire: This painting was done a few years ago, but I kept hold of it because I loved the sense it gave me of stepping into the light and bustle of Flinders Street. It’s from a sketch I made on the spot and photos taken from the steps of the train station. At different times I’ve sketched, photographed and painted on site with friends around Melbourne - a lot of fun, and sometimes nerve-wracking with so many onlookers. This little painting I made when I was
back home in the studio. I took dozens of photos of that particular corner, from all sides of the intersection. I chose this view because I liked the way the people in shadow are played against the bright light of the street. Painting ‘into the light’ simplifies many forms into silhouettes and easy shapes.

I like painting small. It forces me to keep things simple. To make an impression a small work should say something clear and immediate. There’s no room for lengthy detail. It relies on things apart from size for impact.

Choosing work for this exhibition, this image seemed relevant in an unexpected way. It gave me a reminder of how much around us has recently changed. For me, painting and looking at paintings is a way to appreciate and think
about life.

Watercolour New Zealand Merit Award

Judge’s comment: This painting has emotion. The execution is technically skilled, using lost and found edges and a minimum of brush strokes. The effect is beautiful.

Jacky: This painting was the result of a series of experimental paintings inspired by living in the Wairarapa over the last 5 years. Everywhere there are large sky vistas and I have become very inspired by big skies. Silver linings are a particular interest and I have been trying to get a technique to represent this so I leave the white paper and start with Pyrrol Orange and add cobalt as I go. These are the two predominant colours and being complimentary they create a nice lively grey. There are two Pyrrol oranges worth owning PO73 which I used in the sky, and a more useful land or skin Pyrrol PO71, this would turn greenish
in the sky so only use the PO73 for clouds. Once I had achieved a flowing sky and added a little Phthalo green and blue (Transparent Turquoise) to the sea, I let it dry and thought about a focal point. It was all about the sky rather than the sea and I have a few photo references of seagulls. This is an Eastbourne Black Backed Gull. I drew it in at the Golden Ratio (60/40%) and carefully
painted in with a small pointy brush. So now the focus was on the bird rather than the clouds and the title had to reflect that. Often I find a painting evolves as you go and I love starting with some big washes and see what I can make of it regardless of the reference.